BofA Senior Aerospace and Defense Analyst Ron Epstein discusses on The Big Money Show whether it’s time to separate Boeing’s civilian and defense businesses.
The head of aerospace giant Boeing’s defense division said Sunday the company is still battling problems that are delaying construction of two new aircraft. Air Force One The presidential plane.
Boeing was awarded a $3.9 billion contract in 2018 to build two 747-8 jets for Air Force One, which were scheduled to be delivered by December 2024, but deliveries of the planes have been delayed until at least 2027 and 2028.
Ted Colbert, Boeing DefenseSpace and security analysts said Boeing is grappling with supply chain, inflation and labor challenges as it builds the plane, a heavily modified version of the 747. Delays have cost Boeing more than $2 billion on the program.
“Our team is working on a very challenging program, two very complex airplanes,” Colbert said. “We’ve made significant investments in our workforce and training, in our efficiency and in our operations on the factory floor.”
Biden to ditch Trump design for next Air Force One in favor of Kennedy-era color scheme
Boeing said the new Air Force One program had proven “significantly challenging” in several areas, which led to delays. (Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)
The Boeing 747-8 that will eventually be used as Air Force One is Aerial view of the White House It is capable of flying in worst-case security scenarios, such as nuclear war, and has been modified with military avionics, advanced communications and self-defense systems.
| Ticker | safety | last | change | change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BA | Boeing | 179.54 | -0.77 | -0.43% |
Last year, the Biden administration opted to continue but modify Air Force One’s current two-tone blue-on-white paint scheme, a design that dates back to the Kennedy administration, and Biden’s choice marks a reversal of President Trump’s decision. Red, white and blue color scheme.
Boeing employees who work on Air Force One planes had lapsed security clearances
Boeing lost about $2 billion on the contract for two new Air Force One planes. (Paul Chin/San Francisco Chronicle/via Getty Images)
December 2016, Trump pulled out the promise Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg said at the time that the cost of replacing Air Force One would not exceed $4 billion.
the current Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun He later said that “the critics were right” that the contract price was too low.
The nonpartisan Government Accountability Office said in 2022 that the Air Force One program could be further delayed by a tight labor market for mechanics, lower-than-expected security clearance rates and Boeing’s need to switch to another supplier for some of the plane’s interior work.
President Biden has chosen to make the design of the next Air Force One very similar to the current aircraft. (U.S. Air Force/Staff Sgt. Nicholas Irwin/DVIDS/Fox News)
Last year, Boeing Department of Defense The documents issue led to an investigation into security clearance lapses that allowed hundreds of Boeing employees to work on top-secret Air Force One planes for months or even years with expired credentials and temporarily suspended access to work areas.
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The lapsed “Yankee White” security clearances affected about 250 employees. After the lapses were discovered, the Air Force and Boeing worked to reinstate those clearances, and nearly all of them now have their current top secret clearances back, and no employees lost their clearances. Boeing said at the time that the issue was not affecting the schedule for the new Air Force One jet.
Reuters contributed to this report.
